Helping Hand
by Sasuke-N-Sakura4Ever
Summary: That was the most disgusting thing I have ever tasted," Sasuke mumbled as he glared at the homemade soldier pill in his hand. Sasuke/Sakura


**Just an idea that came into my mind as I watched the new episodes of Naruto Shipuuden. Hope that you like it.**

**Disclaimer: Nope…can't say I own Naruto. TT**

'_Concentrate harder,'_ he thought to himself as he slowly gathered the lightning chakra to his hand.

Obsidian eyes narrowing as the brilliant blue of the Chidori glowed brightly in his palm. A smirk gracing his lips as the sound of his technique echoed through the trees, waiting to be used on an unsuspecting soul. He inhaled a good amount of oxygen as he prepared to use his second technique.

'_Katon: Ryuka no Jutsu!'_

The familiar warmth rose in his throat as the fire escaped his lips, targeting the brilliant lightning sphere in his hands. He watched the fire collide with the lightning, its embers dancing around the brilliant ball, trying to surround it in flames. Sweat continued to run down his jaw, every muscle in his body tensed, screaming for him to stop.

'_Concentrate Sasuke,' _he told himself as he tried to fuse the fire and lightning chakra into one technique.

The flames continued to circle around the lightning orb, trying to break through the electric barriers. Sasuke started to grow frustrated, his concentration dwindling. With an aggravated sigh he dismissed the Chidori, his eyes looking upon his charred hand in scrutiny.

"At this rate…I won't be able to catch up to Naruto," he mumbled in between breaths as he collapsed to his knees.

He could feel his arms shaking from the constant summoning of the Chidori and all muscles in his body aching, screaming for him to rest. The effects of training non-stop for two days was starting to take its toll on him…even the great Uchiha Sasuke had his limits he supposed. The only thing that kept him from collapsing from exhaustion was his will to surpass Naruto in every way.

"Dammit," he muttered, his burned fist colliding with the ground.

It all started the other day during Team Seven's usual training sessions, when Naruto and himself were chosen to spar against each other.

_Flashback_

_They stood on opposing sides of the clearing, which was now void of any type of plant life. Sasuke gripped his Kusanagi tight, his Sharingan ready to analyze his opponent's next attack. He allowed a smirk to spread across his face, noticing Naruto's labored breathing from across the field. The two of them were aware that the other was almost out of chakra and neither of them could barely stand, but neither was willing to give up._

"_Is that the best you can offer me dobe, even after all these years?" he asked, taunting his best friend. _

_Naruto's eyes hardened at the question, a tinge of red passing through his normally ocean colored eyes as he performed the familiar hand signals of his favorite jutsu. Two shadow clones appeared on each side of the blond haired boy, who suddenly had a mischievous grin etched onto his countenance. _

"_Not even close teme!" he exclaimed as the two shadow clones began to gather energy into their creator's hand._

_The familiar aura of the Rasengan began to form, the chakra shaping a perfect sphere. _

_Sasuke readied himself to counter, allowing his own chakra to flow through Kusanagi, creating the Chidori sword that he had pierced through the heart of Orochimaru so many months ago._

"_The Rasengan…how predictable of you dobe," Sasuke stated as he charged in for the final attack, this fight was over with._

_The grin on Naruto's face widened, "Just what I needed you to do!" he exclaimed as the shape of the Rasengan began to alter, forming four pointed edges that surrounded the sphere in the middle, similar to a large shuriken._

"_Rasenshuriken!!" he heard Naruto shout as he released the technique the moment Sasuke was in range._

_Sasuke's eyes widened as a tornado of wind chakra surrounded him, cutting his flesh each time he touched the wall of wind._

"_What is this?" he asked himself, wincing as the chakra tore through his right arm. _

_After what seemed like hours of torture, Naruto finally called off the attack, a small smirk on his face as Sasuke fell to the ground, his body covered in small cuts. _

"_Looks like I won this spar eh teme?" he said while gripping tightly onto the arm he had held the strange technique in._

_Sasuke's eyes narrowed at his words as he finally caught his breath. He slowly started to stand despite his body's plea to rest from the devastating attack._

"_What was that dobe?" he asked, his voice sounding unimpressed._

_Naruto grinned once again, "It's one of my newer techniques. Kakashi-sensei trained me to manipulate wind chakra to turn my Rasengan into something more powerful," he explained, his eyes moving down to his arm, 'Although I haven't perfected it, I still managed to kick your ass teme," he laughed._

"_Hn," was Sasuke's reply as he sheathed Kunsanagi into its holster._

_The dark haired boy turned to leave the training grounds, his pride hurt due to his loss._

_End Flashback_

His hands balled into fists as he remembered the humiliation he felt to losing to his best friend. Since then, Sasuke has been trying to teach himself how to manipulate his fire chakra to combine with his Chidori to create a more powerful technique, but each attempt ended in failure.

Sasuke rested his head on his knees his eyes boring holes into the fabric of his pants. The thought of being inferior to Naruto made him sick to his stomach. He tried to force himself to get up and try again, but his body wasn't corresponding with his mind. Pain from his aching muscles prevented him from moving, his entire being thoroughly exhausted.

"Is this my limit?" he asked himself as he moved his head to gaze upon the trees, the wind moving his dark bangs into his face.

He allowed himself to close his eyes for a moment, allowing the coolness of the spring breeze to sooth his body. The sound of footsteps caused him to open his eyes, lifting his head to see who was approaching. His vision was slightly clouded, but he could make out the familiar head of pink hair.

"Looks like someone is overdoing it again," the familiar voice giggled as she got closer.

"What is it Sakura?" he asked in his usual monotone voice when she took a seat down next to him.

"I just came to see how you were doing. Kakashi-sensei informed me that you have been training for two straight days without any rest," she explained, her emerald eyes locking with his dark ones.

His brows furrowed, it seems he couldn't get a moment's piece since his return to the village. Nowadays it seemed as if everyone were spying on him, making it seem like he was going to plan another escape from the village. What they didn't realized was there was no longer any point in leaving again; he had accomplished what he had set out to do; now he planned to live the rest of his life in peace. Sasuke lifted his head so that he was at her level.

"I don't need you guys checking up on me every second of the day," he said in a tone that made Sakura wince slightly, "I don't have any intentions of leaving again."

He watched her eyes widen for a brief moment before a smile decorated her face, "I'm not the one who has been watching you Sasuke-kun, my fan-girl days are over with…besides this is the first time I have seen you in the last week," she laughed, her eyes lit up in excitement.

Sasuke watched her facial expression for a moment, now that he thought about it, he had noticed that she hasn't been that clingy to him since his return, and he also noticed that she had been working longer shifts at the hospital nowadays so it wasn't very often he had a chance to see her.

"Hn. So what have you come here for Sakura?" he asked while turning his head to stare at the large oak tree in front of him.

He heard Sakura clear her throat, "I just came to see you. Can't a girl come and visit her long lost teammate?"

Sasuke gave her a look that told her he was unconvinced, "You're lying."

Her smile turned to a thin line as she looked to the ground thoughtfully, "Partially I guess. I heard that you were overwhelming yourself so I came to make sure you hadn't passed out or anything," she explained, refusing to look back up at him.

"In other words you were coming to check up on me," he stated, "As I said Sakura, I don't have to be watched like some type of criminal."

He heard her gasp softly and felt her warm gaze upon him, "Its not like that Sasuke-kun, I'm doing it out of concern for your health. You do remember I'm a medic-nin after all."

Sasuke watched her from the corner of his eye; it was amazing how much Sakura had changed over the past three years. She was no longer the annoying useless girl that he remembered from the days when they were genin…he actually looked to her as one of his equals, even though he would never admit that to her.

"You look like hell Sasuke," she stated as her eyes looked over his bruised form.

He eyed her strangely, it was strange to hear her say his name without the –kun at the end of it. Upon closer inspection he noticed her brilliant green eyes were full of concern…concern for him, "Why are you pushing yourself so hard?"

"That's none of your business," he stated coldly.

A soft sigh escaped her lips, she wasn't going to try to pry it out of him, "No matter the reason, you should at least let me heal some of the bruises," she said, her voice shaking slightly.

Sasuke looked over to her with a calm expression, noticing that she was holding back the urge to cry…why did it always seem like he was the one that caused her tears to fall? He shook the thought out of her head, his mind focusing on the offer she made. It would be a hell of a lot easier to train if his body was back to normal.

"Do what you must," he said finally, extending his arm out to her.

Sasuke watched her eyes light up at his response as she gingerly took a hold of his arm, summoning the green chakra to her palms. He kept his eyes focused on her as she concentrated on changing the purple skin to its original color. How was it that something so small make her so happy? The warmth spread throughout him as the chakra began to heal his tired body, the bruises fading away. Sasuke allowed his mind to wander as he watched Sakura, noticing the sweat begin to form on her forehead, her eyes focused on their goal.

'_You really are different,'_ he thought as she removed her hands away from his skin, wiping the perspiration off her brow.

"There you should be okay now," she smiled, proud that she was able to be of use to him.

Sasuke moved his fully recovered limbs around a little, he was amazed that there was no longer any aching or pain when he moved them, he felt like a new person.

"Just don't overdo it again," Sakura said sternly.

'_I guess the medic part of her doesn't stay in the hospital,'_ he thought with a sigh.

"Yeah I got it," he said as he stood up, his body itching to get back to training.

Sakura slowly stood afterwards, "Here," she stated, grabbing his arm, placing something in his hand.

He looked down curiously at the dark shaped object in his hand, "What is this?"

"Those are some of my homemade soldier pills," she explained excitedly, "They're packed with vitamins and nutrients that are essential for your body to function in overwhelming situations…Naruto used these for his training as well," she said.

Sasuke stared blankly down at the pills in his hands, "Aa."

Sakura let out a laugh, even though he didn't show it, she knew that he appreciated the offer. She stretched her limbs, "Well I better get going. My shift at the hospital should be starting soon," she stated and began to walk away.

"Sakura…"

She paused at the sound of her name, not turning around to face him, "What is it Sasuke-kun?"

"Why are you doing this? After all the pain I have caused you…why do you still help me?" he asked curiously, he didn't know what caused him to ask such a question in the first place.

He watched her stiffen for a brief moment before turning around to face him, a bright smile spread across her face, "Its because I love you silly."

Sasuke's eyes widened a fraction at her words…well he hadn't expected that to be her answer. He noticed a slight fluster form on her face, "Well I have to go before I'm late. Ja'ne!" she said, taking off towards the exit of the training grounds before he had the chance to say anything.

He stood there dumbfounded for a few seconds watching the spot she ran off in before looking down to the soldier pill in his hands. She still loved him huh? It would be a lie to say he wasn't taken aback.

"So annoying," he mumbled as he allowed a smirk to spread across him face.

He took a small bite out of the soldier pill and chewed on it for a few seconds. Suddenly a feeling of nausea overwhelmed him, causing him to spit the contents out of his mouth.

'_Was she trying to poison me?_' he thought as he glared at the little dark ball in his hand.

Sasuke hoped her cooking skills would improve, what good would his future wife be if she couldn't cook? He threw the pill to the ground.

"That was the most disgusting thing I have ever tasted," he stated, glancing at the small pill once more before finally returning to his training.

'_Note to self. Teach Sakura the art of cooking before she kills me.'_

**So I hope it was okay. I remember watching Sai eat the soldier pill in Shipuuden and wondered what would happen if Sasuke was given one as well lol. I hope you all liked it. Reviews and criticism are welcome.**


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